White Paper–SinatraMan17

Posted on February 6, 2023 by adamreim

Why A.I. can never replace Artists.

THESIS:

Art of any form is something that is viscerally human and is created by its creator through new-thought and emotional inspiration, an artificial intelligence, by definition, can never fully replace human artists or create new art.

  1. Artificial Artist Technology’s Strengths/Weaknesses:

Are the Artists No Longer Needed in the AI Age?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JTusejizoQ5kuyYzX7T6rmQmz7j0wTkt/view

Reading Notes:

  • “[art is] transformed from a personal, emotional, and gifted activity into a computable” The author’s use of “emotional” will tie in nicely with my claims about Art relating to Emotion.
  • “Only people can create images that do not yet exist. Machines have no dreams” I love the vocab, “dreams,” used here.
  • “The creative core of AI is based on ‘data’ and ‘algorithms’…” I agree, the “creation” is merely the compilation of data points.
  • “It is unlikely to deliver important cultural and social functions, such as artistic symbolism and criticism” A brilliant idea that COULD warrant a full exploration: AI can’t offer deep cultural or social symbolism through Art.

The Brilliance And Weirdness Of ChatGPT

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BucJzu1EdNTC_jF3JsgOypZR0xE3xIN-/view

Reading Notes:

  • “ChatGPT is, quite simply, the best artificial intelligence chatbot ever released to the general public.” Good simple definition of ChatGPT.
  • “A.I. chatbots have been terrible — impressive only if you cherry-pick the bot’s best responses and throw out the rest.” Sets up the status quo of AI generators before GPT.

Creativity In The Era Of Artificial Intelligence

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yn83T7rbexhg26pdHOd0D3yyET4bGFh_/view

Deep Learning in the Field of Art 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k274L8RHrB7uMUBvksl0DyGGby6ilakU/view

Reading Notes:

  • This source is insightful, defining key terms in AI Art Generator’s mechanics, but it is expressed in broken English due to it’s Chinese origin.
  • “Even AI veteran’s agree that DL [deep learning] doesn’t really UNDERSTAND what beauty is, or why Picasso was such a great artist.” I love the term “understand” because yes it can produce something that is beautiful, but does AI “understand” WHY? Does that lower its status as an artist?

What is Creativity?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t58HbgLYp6vwy9kUDCUb8PS18W9drMTi/view

Reading Notes

  • “Some could argue that those with greater knowledge are the most creative; however, without curiosity, there is little creation. Clearly, both are needed to generate ideas, patterns and combinations that can lead to new and innovative products and services” I resonate with the author’s idea that creation comes from knowledge AND curiosity. AI has an unfathomable knowledge, more than the smartest human, but does it have genuine curiosity about the world around it?
  • “Creation starts with discovery, becoming aware of, or stumbling across a novel thought”

AI Art & Copyrights

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o-G_747Y1NdtlukAaAO6MI3hrnifmCFS/view

  1. Why do we value art made by Humans? Art Intentionality, and why it’s NOT entirely Meaningless:

How Does Art Express Emotion?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S4EeeUu-tQVk2VCED2HYwqwzlql8CrCC/view

  • “How works of art can be expressive of emotion and thus sad, happy, or melancholy must pose itself as a problem for anyone who believes both that works of art are not conscious entities and that only conscious entities can have feelings and emotions.” This is a complex, yet compelling statement about consciousness and how it relates to emotions in Art. 
  • “This account makes the expressive properties of the artwork dependent upon the emotional state and intentions of its creator, with the well known unpalatable consequence that any claim about the sadness, joyfulness, or melancholy of a work of art can be falsified by the discovery that its creator was not sad, joyful, or melancholy and did not intend to express these emotions in producing the work.”

Accidental Art: Tolstoy’s Poetics of Unintentionality

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_vmyIFWANYu7meABq7upCDtxS1XR545u/view

  • “L. N. Tolstoy’s dynamic identity claim about art: we know an artist has created a genuine work of art when he ‘hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that others are infected by these feelings and also experience them.’” While this can just be written off as one man’s opinion, it’s important to note that LN Tolstoy is considered one of Russia’s greatest figures in literature. As an Artist himself, Tolstoy recognizes the importance of expressing emotions through art, and how the presence of artist’s emotions in their art heightens its quality.

Artist Intention And The Conservation Of Contemporary Art

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nESQVtC3TYcml5kBQcJ7M2Zx5flKzGjG/view

Bias in Perception of Art Produced by Artificial Intelligence

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y4kiU6oS9bgiCpNpT0pGApZvN1X3RCFA/view

Posted in SinatraMan, White Paper | 3 Comments

White Paper – Fulcrum66

Posted on February 6, 2023 by fulcrum66

Hypothesis: Exercising while feeling tired can give you energy.

Proposal 1:

For this research assignment I will be looking into how taking part in exercise can increase your energy levels even when you are tired. I want to make sure I fully explain where this energy comes from and the full biomechanics that make you feel this sensation. Besides explaining how this happens I want to give examples of different exercises and training you can take part in. These examples may include the number of sets to what part of your body you are working out. I believe another important aspect I will show is the different training types and what level of energy they bring to your body. My overall go is to research this topic and to show how exercise can make you energized even if you are feeling tired.

Source one: http://www.kheljournal.com/archives/2016/vol3issue5/PartA/3-4-55-201.pdf

Background: This source lists information retaining to my topic and gives me key information on how to explain my topic. Author, Mohammed Abou Elmagd first introduces what physical activity is and how we can use it to improve our lives. In the body paragraphs he has different sections that explain a variety of factors about exercising going from what you can work on to some of the benefits of doing this.

How I intend to use: From this article I will only be using the information I deem relevant to my hypothesis. I intend to use the information I read about exercises and the body mechanics to explain how your body gains energy from working out. I will be using quotes and intext citations to show the information I read and explain it.

Source two: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13557850120078143

Background: This source is article explain the results from test conducted by researchers trying to see how African American women are affected by weight loss compared to Caucasian women. The test was done on 4 groups of African American women, all at different levels of physical activity. At the end of the test the found the more physically active women had more energy compared to the non-active women.

How I intend to use: I will use the results of the test to prove how people can experience higher energy levels if they exercise. I big part of the test was the weight loss aspect and because this is not part of my hypothesis, I will disregard that information when writing my paper. What I want to focus on the most is what the women in the test said in their results with what they were feeling after going through the exercises.

Source three: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002822395003711

Background: This article includes information about fat burning exercises that I believe is relevant to my hypothesis. Fat burning exercises can create energy from the fat your body uses while working out and that energy can last after your workout.

How I intend to use: I will use the information about fat burning exercises to show how your body naturally produces this energy and the possibly benefits after working out. Using this information, I will form intext citations to display the information I read.

Source four: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1277949/

Background: This source contains the results of a test done on elderly adults from different ethnicities and was done to examine the barriers and facilitators to exercising. A main aspect to this experiment was to see the physical level of the elderly age group because they are the least physically active age group.

How I intend to use: I want to use what the elderly test subjects said in the conclusion of the test where most of them said they were experiencing feeling energetic. It’s important to include these test results because it gives a personal perspective on this subject and gives recorded proof that feeling energetic is a common occurrence.

Source five: https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsep/33/4/article-p548.xml

Background: This source is another test conducted on young adolescents who are low on physical activity and the test was to see what their responses were. In the conclusion of the experiment the test subjects stated in their results that they did in fact feel energized.

How I intend to use: As of right now this is the third test I am using for my sources, and I intend to use the different results of the test to show that all ages will experience this form of energy when exercising. I will put together what they found for each result and look into the common themes amongst the results.

Source Six:https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269215513481047?journalCode=crea

Background: This was a study done on patients with multiple Sclerosis and subjects were tested on to see the benefits of group exercise. Subjects conducted group exercise together and were asked to report how they felt after the tests. For the conclusion of the test the subjects reported they benefited from the group exercise greatly and their health symptoms did not worsen.

How I Intend to Use: I will use this evidence of group exercising being beneficial to show how a support system may help you with adherence to exercising.

Source Seven: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1612197X.2009.9671894

Background: This is another study that tested if motivation really effected an individual’s workout. Subjects were regular exercisers who had some understanding of the benefits of personal fitness. Before tests were conducted subjects had to go through motivational training and after the tests were completed subjects reported that the motivational training helped.

How I Intend to Use: I’m going to use the evidence of motivation benefiting a workout to show how someone can use this to help them with staying committed to fitness.

Source Eight: https://www.doctorkiltz.com/low-intensity-exercises/

Background: This is a short article that lists the benefits of a low intensity exercise.

How I Intend to use: I am going to explain the benefits of a low intensity workout and how someone can use this intensity for good health.

Source Nine: https://connectusfund.org/6-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-extrinsic-motivation

Background: This is an article that lists the advantages and disadvantages of using extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is using outside influences to make changes in your life and can be harmful to an individual’s values.

How I Intend to use: I am going to use the disadvantages to show why a person should never use extrinsic factors to achieve their goals. I will also list a few advantages to explain why people may be influenced easily by extrinsic motivation.

Source Ten: https://compass-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/doi/full/10.1111/spc3.12016

Background: This source is an article that describes what personality is and values people have. It clearly explains that everyone will have different influences and values that makes them an individual.

How I Intend to use: I will use the evidence of different personalities and values to explain how a person can create motivation from this, instead of using outside factors to change something in their life.

Posted in Fulcrum, White Paper | 1 Comment

My Hypothesis- Anonymous9845

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Anonymous
  1. letter grades in schools
  2. letter grades are bad for schools
  3. letter grades can be discouraging for students
  4. getting rid of letter grades will provide students with many benefits
  5. getting rid of letter grades will help students gain confidence
  6. getting rid of letter grades will improve student engagement, learning, and confidence
Posted in Anonymous9845, My Hypothesis | Leave a comment

White Paper – Sunflower

Posted on February 6, 2023 by sunflower0311

Hypothesis: Utilizing exergaming in American schools will help combat the problem of childhood obesity.

Source 1: Impact of exergaming on young children’s school day energy expenditure and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels

Background: This article from the Journal of Sport and Health Science talks about a study that was conducted to investigate the long-term effects of adding exergaming to school curriculum for underserved children. The article made the point that underserved children have less opportunities to participate in physical activity due to a lack of programs. The study concluded that exergaming has the same effect on children’s physical activity as regular physical education.

How I Intend to Use It: I feel like this article could be useful for me because it talks about why low physical activity is a problem for children and proves that exergaming is just as good as normal physical education. I feel that it helps prove the idea that using exergaming in schools will get kids to be physically active in a way that they may find to be more fun.

Citation

Gao, Z., Pope, Z., Eun Lee, J., Stodden, D., Roncesvalles, N., Pasco, D., Huang, C. C., & Feng, D. (2016, November 24). Impact of exergaming on young children’s School Day Energy expenditure and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels. Journal of Sport and Health Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254616301181

Notes:

  • Why obesity is a problem: Children from underserved communities are more likely to become obese and have cardiovascular disease and diabetes as they age.
  • Could be a useful to quote from this passage:  “research indicated only 42% of U.S. children aged 6–11 years and 8% of adolescents participated in the recommended 60 min of MVPA per day.8 Schools reach nearly 95% of children in the USA and are important venues to promote weekday PA participation.”
  • Exergaming is being used in schools because they cater towards a child’s interest in technology while also having them participate in physical activities.
  • If you are looking for an example of an exergame: “Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) combines dancing, which involves agility, balance, and cardiorespiratory endurance, with energetic music and visuals, which capture children’s interest and promote a health-enhancing level of PA for fitness.”
  • The study found that students who participated in exergaming at school had significantly greater light physical activity.
  • The positive effects of exergaming may be due to the fact that the gameplay is engaging and fun.

Source 2: Examining Young Children’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors in an Exergaming Program Using Accelerometry

Background: This article from Emerging Technology Applications to Promote Physical Activity and Health studied whether or not there was a difference between boys and girls when it came to physical activity levels and exergaming. The study concluded that there was no difference, and that exergaming may be able to assist in promoting physical activity to both boys and girls.

How I Intend to Use It: I feel I can really use this article a lot in my paper. I think it is important to show that exergaming is not only popular among boys or girls, but it is popular among both. This will further prove that using exergaming in schools will help alleviate obesity within school aged children.

Citation

Quan, M., Pope, Z., & Gao, Z. (2018, September 25). Examining young children’s physical activity and sedentary behaviors in an exergaming program using accelerometry. MDPI. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/7/10/302

Notes:

  • Benefits of physical activity in the lives of children: “Increased physical activity (PA) and reduced sedentary behavior among children and adolescents have been positively associated with improvements in physiological and cognitive outcomes, such as body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, bone health, cognition, and academic achievement”
  • Exergaming requires kids to physically interact with the game by moving their arms, legs and in some cases their entire body.
  • This study found that regardless of the children’s gender more then 50% where physically active while participating in exergaming.
  • Exergaming can be used anywhere at any time. It is not hindered by weather.
  • Exergaming is a good supplement to physical education or even recess.

Source 3: Exergaming and physical education: A qualitative examination
from the teachers’ perspectives

Background: This article focused on exergaming in schools through the perspective of the physical education teachers who would be utilizing it in their classrooms. A study was conducted where two physical education teachers did a six-week exergaming unit with their students. They reported that using exergaming kept their students motivated and they were very enthusiastic about the unit. The variety that exergaming has also helped appeal to different interests and kept the students engaged.

How I Intend to Use It: I feel like this source is very valuable because you get to hear about exergaming through the perspective of a teacher who used it in their classroom. Using the evidence that exergaming helped motivate, interest and engage students will help me prove my hypothesis. This is one of the most positive articles I read on exergaming but also talked about some of the obstacles there can be when trying to get exergaming into schools.

Citation

Sheehan, D. P., Katz, L., & Kooiman, B. J. (2015). Exergaming and physical education: A qualitative examination from the teachers’ perspectives . Journal of Case Studies in Education, 4, 1–14. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/85843092/152301-libre.pdf?1652272281=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DExergaming_and_physical_education_A_qual.pdf&Expires=1678207409&Signature=Rc1e4mAzG0VQw4At06z-gtiwJNnWa25apN4ssXiAV76HDUrR1gMyhwTQE4TaIvRP6jDN8AbfMnB-EyVnGEF1yXEiOuX0GCLfK7EVxQL7MhrYnfPzNhB-jY7VfC0cjiLtPhhZqItYGnf3LChgx~-F-7n9DJv~MFpYLxNv2vJ3qOH2UGgeXX2TXbEC9qIYkIBMC0k2M18y2OBdRTj1YA1e32YUmf2eRDOG7skPWm6dXkG2ick7h~fiBKwPio3E23p1vSXqUMhaGKMvhVNUSaRWIPJD50NMBT5vvNkj1nPGCmTMZLIGtq116WIGp~rbTHHZOE70W~S-AuVvjw9fLUPNPA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA.

Notes:

  • Both PE teachers as well as the students responded favorably towards exergaming
  • “It was really highly motivating for them; they were really into exergaming. I thought that, depending on what station they were at, the engagement for all of them was almost equal, it didn’t matter what station they were at, they were all excited.”
  • Enthusiasm continued through the entire program. Enthusiasm was especially high when the students saw improvement in their performance.
  • There was no gender preference when it came to the games. Both boys and girls enjoyed them equally.

Source 4: Implications of exergaming for the physical education curriculum in the 21st century

Background: This article talked about some of the benefits of exergaming in schools. One of the main benefits was that exergaming can help give kids positive feelings towards physical activity and encourage them to participate in physical activity outside of exergaming. Participating in exergaming activities alone or with a group can be interesting and keep students engaged. In addition, exergaming also had positive effects on student’s balance.

How I Intend to Use It: I will be using this article to help prove why exergaming can help alleviate obesity in children. This article showed many benefits to exergaming and will work really well in my essay. In addition, it brought up the point that exergaming can give kids a positive feeling towards physical activity. I have not heard this point before, and I think it is a very strong point.

Citation

Ennis, C. D. (2013, July 1). Implications of exergaming for the physical education curriculum in the 21st Century. Journal of Sport and Health Science. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254613000513

Notes

  • “Exergames typically are situationally interesting and motivational both to skilled and unskilled students.”
  • Exergaming can help increase perceptual motor skills, strength, balance, motivation, interest, enjoyment and engagement.
  • Exergaming can be used from elementary through high school
  • There is a growing amount of evidence that shows that exergaming can increase student’s physical activity when compared to the typical multiactivity sport/game based physical education we are used to seeing.
  • “Research also has suggested that exergaming is correlated to reductions in waist circumference6 and other health-related parameters, such as body mass index and percent body fat…”
  • A six-week exergaming unit was found to increase a student’s postural stability more than an instructor led balance program.
  • “It is not surprising that students became comfortable in the exergaming environment and came to play the exergames more effectively. They exhibited both decreased situational interest and increased PA intensity as their experience levels increased.” (I found this to be a very interesting point made)
  • Some exergames can encourage relational learning since students have to work together to solve a problem.

Source 5: Enhancing Physical Education with Exergames and Wearable Technology

Background: This article explored exergaming and wearable technology being utilized in physical education. It talks about how having the wearable technology will better help track movements and determine if they were efficient. In addition, exergaming can be used to help teach curriculum by using games that help teach these topics.

How I Intend to Use It: I intend to use this article to help explore different ideas for exergaming. Wearable technology will refute the argument that you do not need to really be physically active while exergaming. In addition, the idea of adding curriculum to the games that the kids would be playing would help increase their physical activity and their knowledge at the same time.

Citation

R. Lindberg, J. Seo and T. H. Laine, “Enhancing Physical Education with Exergames and Wearable Technology,” in IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 328-341, 1 Oct.-Dec. 2016, doi: 10.1109/TLT.2016.2556671.

Notes

  • Physical activity has positive effect on health and academic performance
  • “Previous research indicates that exergames may improve the fitness and motivation of players, as well as their cognitive and academic performance. Furthermore, several studies have reported the benefits of exergames in PE. Thus, if exergames can be coupled with curriculum content relayed to physical and health education, they may help to solve some of the current challenges faced by PE.”
  • Certain exergames can also challenge student cognitively. For example Othello 2 is a program which requires students to think tactically, perform physical exercises and solve challenges.

Extra Source if Needed: The Effects of Exergaming on Physical Activity in a Third-Grade Physical Education Class

Rebuttal Argument

Source 1: Developing adaptive exergames for adolescent children

https://primo.rowan.edu/permalink/01ROWU_INST/ttegd8/cdi_acm_primary_2307162

  • Not a good counter argument but could be used to refute a counter argument.

Source 2: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/IJGM.S99025

Zeng, N., & Gao, Z. (2022, November 23). Exergaming and obesity in youth: Current perspectives. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/IJGM.S99025

  • “Although exergaming has been used as a physical activity modality among various populations, the evidence regarding its effectiveness on health-related outcomes in overweight/obese individuals remains unclear. “
  • You can argue against this by citing all the indisputable positive effects exergaming has on health.

Posted in Sunflower, White Paper | 4 Comments

White Paper – philsfan1133

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Jacob Pasquale

Hypothesis #1:

Sports officials apart of professional leagues and refs are manipulating the outcomes of professional sporting events for their own financial gain.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612309000191?casa_token=0gnGiG_4zocAAAAA:d1cn9tX8uVpjLW1Ga3D7n4h01SC-dc5pS1hkTpSV1HLYd6yeh-yn2zF8pvIq8Gvhy4mqmn02ohE

Background: This article tests and looks at certain data to see point shaving in the NCAA. Strong favorites, previously believed to be the most likely candidates to engage in point shaving, may instead be the least likely. They propose that a shift in coaching strategy late in blowout games explains the anomalous bet outcome distribution patterns. Favorites in NCAA basketball win yet fail to cover the spread at a rate significantly greater than expected. Wolfers suggests widespread point shaving causes this phenomenon. Players on the strongest favorites appear to be the least likely to have fixed prior games.

How I intend to use it: I can use the findings from this article in a research paper by incorporating it into my discussion of point shaving in NCAA basketball and exploring the potential reasons for the anomalous bet outcome distribution patterns. I could discuss the findings that favorites in NCAA basketball win yet fail to cover the spread at a higher rate than expected and how this phenomenon may be caused by widespread point-shaving. Additionally, I could discuss the proposal that a shift in coaching strategy late in blowout games could explain these patterns and the suggestion that players on the strongest favorites may be the least likely to have fixed prior games.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09523367.2018.1476341

Background: This shows that match-fixing has been a major and substantial long-standing historical continuity in sports usually but not always linked to gambling and sporting materialism. Examples are brought forward to show that it could be found in Ancient Greece and Egypt and was widespread across the early modern and modern periods in Britain, America, and Australia. It concludes by suggesting some key questions that a future agenda for the historical study of match-fixing might address and gives many other articles about match-fixing.

How I intend to use it: I intend to use this article by using the different various sources listed to do my basic research on match-fixing in a historical context. I think we can look back and see how it has lasted years and if it lasted then, then it most definitely exists now.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-77389-6_6

Background: Match-fixing, whether to gain a sporting advantage or facilitate gains from betting, has been present throughout the history of organized sports. But its prevalence appears to have increased sharply since the Millennium. Criminals can place larger bets and make greater profits from buying fixes from players. This gives notes about specific examples of match-fixing.

How I intend to use it: I can use the information on the background of match-fixing in a research paper by including it as the context in the introduction of your paper. I could also discuss the historical presence of match-fixing in organized sports and the increase in its prevalence since the turn of the Millennium. I also could highlight the motivations behind match-fixing, such as gaining a sporting advantage or profiting from betting, and how criminals can make larger profits by buying fixes from players. This information can be used to set the stage for my discussion on the specific examples of match-fixing that you will be exploring in my research paper.

https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=123003017068029121069004101001094002035005000074066087090121006004123080030025019119100028043014103061021011013024066006072090000053057080086030027070097110080068017041072112025091086093125071073103113121067074002117117092098069122097096114000001&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE

Background: This takes a look at 1,251 Bundesliga 1 football matches from 2010/11 to 2014/15 and shows that bet volume in the Betfair markets in these matches was systematically higher for four referees. Our results are robust to alternative speculations and are thus suggestive of potentially existing match-fixing and corruption in the German Bundesliga.

How I intend to use it: I can use the findings from this study in my research paper about referees fixing matches for their own financial gain by incorporating it into your discussion of match-fixing in the German Bundesliga. I could mention the study’s examination of 1,251 Bundesliga 1 football matches and the finding that bet volume in the Betfair markets was systematically higher for four referees, which is suggestive of potential match-fixing and corruption. Then, use these findings to support my argument on the issue of referees engaging in match-fixing for their own financial gain. Additionally, I could discuss the robustness of the results to alternative speculations, adding further credibility to the findings of the study.

https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA249138225&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=15677559&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Ea3394f08

Background: For this article, I just wanted a source that showed the general summary of sports betting and how it could easily be manipulated by referees for their own financial gain. And more importantly about the history in the United States is important for my argument as well. This was more extensive and had lots of information:

How I intend to use it: I can use this to explore the context and development of the issue of referees potentially rigging games for their own financial gain. I could discuss the evolution of sports betting in the US, including any legal changes or challenges, and how this has affected the sports betting industry. Then, also examine any instances of match-fixing or corruption in US sports and the impact that these have had on public perception and trust in the fairness of sporting events. This historical context can provide background and support for my argument on the issue of referees potentially rigging games for financial gain, and can be used to illustrate the need for greater oversight and transparency in the sports industry.

Posted in PhilsFan, White Paper | 3 Comments

White Paper – SortableElms

Posted on February 6, 2023 by sortableelms

Hypothesis 

  1. Art in the world.
  2. Visual art in the world.
  3. Art isn’t just hung up in museums.
  4. Art can be in the form of fine art in museums to graffiti on the streets.
  5. Graffiti should be considered art.
  6. Graffiti murals should be considered art.

1) Unexpected cleaning of graffiti-covered tunnel spurs controversy in Washington Heights

https://gothamist.com/news/unexpected-cleaning-of-graffiti-covered-tunnel-spurs-controversy-in-washington-heights?utm_medium=flipdigest.ad.20230125&utm_source=email&utm_content=article&utm_campaign=campaign

In the article Unexpected cleaning of graffiti-covered tunnel spurs controversy in Washington Heights by Jake Offenhartz talks about the cleaning of a graffiti-covered tunnel. It was controversial since it was considered part of the community’s history. The tunnel was painted by five artists and over time graffiti artists added their own art to it. This shows both the negatives and positives of graffiti art depending on who in the article you are taking words from.

2) Graffiti vs Street Art

http://www.columbia.edu/~sl3731/graffitiART/ 
The article Graffiti vs Street Art by Seres Lu talks about the negative side of graffiti versus the beauty that is street art and true graffiti art. It supports graffiti artists in their journey to become street artists who get paid to do their art that started off being considered graffiti.

3) From graffiti to the street art movement : negotiating art worlds, urban spaces, and visual culture, c. 1970-2008.

https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/976281/

This thesis talks about the change between graffiti to a new art movement, known as the street art movement by Anna Waclawek. It gives a lot of information about the graffiti movement that changes to the street art movement in one place. It has lots of detail pertaining to both movements.

4) From graffiti to murals and back again: Philadelphia’s spectacular streetscape

From graffiti to murals and back again: Philadelphia’s spectacular streetscape

In this article James Dickinson talks about Philadelphia’s contemporary streetscape is remarkably varied and colorful of street murals and graffiti that compete for attention on city walls.

5) Eliza: Guerilla Art Supports Heritage Value

https://apo.org.au/node/60124

In this paper, Jennifer Harris talks about the good of guerrilla art, a street art movement that first emerged in the UK. Harris talks about the similarities that guerilla art holds with heritage.

Everything You Need to Know About Visiting the Bushwick Collective


This is a collection of information about the Bushwick Collective, several blocks in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick where street artists have free permission to paint murals on building walls.

What is graffiti art?

Rebuttal

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2015/mar/13/graffiti-ugly-stupid-threatening-ruining-world-david-lynch/

Posted in SortableElms, White Paper | 1 Comment

White Paper- Giants19

Posted on February 6, 2023 by giants19

HYPOTHESIS- 

1.Seatbelts

2. Seatbelts are not as useful as they could be

3. Seatbelts are not useful

4. Seatbelts need to be improved

5. Seatbelts need to be outlawed

6. Getting rid of all seatbelts will cause people to drive more slowly and more carefully and will also make car crashes easier to escape.

Getting rid of seat belts would not only cause people to be more cautious of their driving and take more precautions while driving, which would result in fewer accidents, but there are many reasons for campaigning for the ban of seatbelts. Seatbelts cause people to be mangled by airbags all the time. There have been multiple reports of people becoming trapped in fiery car accidents that they otherwise would have been able to escape had they not still been stuck in their seatbelt. 

Source 1: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0828282X14000051

Next-Generation Airbags and the Possibility of Negative Outcomes Due to Thoracic Injury

-Seatbelts are noted to cause complications when used in conjunction with airbags. 

Source 2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4608342/

This article details an instance of a man with no underlying medical conditions who died very suddenly when a three-point seatbelt was compressed on his neck in an accident. 

Generally, a safety belt is essential during driving and often decreases the mortality rate of the passengers up to 50-75%. The majority of articles have been written about their benefits only, but it is also undeniable that in the case of improper use, seat belts can even be dangerous and life-threatening (1–4). The following report presents a rare mortality case with fatal asphyxia caused by the seat belt, referred to forensic department.

The deceased was described as a 49 year old man who was driving with a high speed of 110 kilometers per hour, in a highway in Tehran. His car had been hit hard from behind by another car. He died instantly without collision with the dashboard, steering wheel or any other part of the car according to the statement of the car passenger. 

On the neck, strip-like bruises were visible on the left side. On the trunk, strip printed abrasion was seen starting from the upper left shoulder and extending diagonally to the right side (Possibly the pressure of the seat belt)

Source 3: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-4115-2_19

-This source discusses what it is exactly that causes drivers, specifically truck drivers, to have an increase in driving recklessly. The study found that having the safety and protection of a seatbelt causes many drivers to become less likely to use human instinct in order to protect themselves and prevent an accident.

Human errors have consistently been implicated in a high percentage of road transport accident. In this study, there are three factors that have been considered as contributing factors to the human error which are social factor, driving behaviour and also individual factors. The aims of this research were to study the level and to compare the contributing factors to the human error among commercial vehicle drivers at Pahang and Terengganu. The relationship between factors that contribute to human error and road transport accident also determined. Data were collected from 80 respondents. Plus, observational technique was conducted at two roads chosen in Pahang and Terengganu. The questionnaire results concluded that there had association between factors that contribute to human error and road transport accident. Observational technique results indicate that drivers had highest percentage in not wearing seatbelts. Therefore, this research concludes that the factors that contribute to human error have the tendency to road transport accident.

Source 4: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44687904

-This source mainly talks about how seatbelts can sometimes fail to protect their users and are at times counter-intuitive.

Occupant ejection may occur during planar and rollover collisions. These ejections can be associated with serious/fatal injuries. Occasionally, occupants will allege that they were wearing a seatbelt immediately before the ejection occurred. Some accident investigators have opined that a seatbelt became disengaged due to collision forces and/or occupant interactions, leaving the occupant essentially unrestrained and exposed to ejection from the vehicle. We present three case studies of collisions with documented seatbelt disengagement at or during the collision, as well as three controlled tests. The release of the seatbelt was always associated with dire consequences for the occupant’s outboard upper extremity. Evidence of seatbelt webbing interaction with the occupant was always evident, and the interaction of the belt with the vehicle interior trim was also apparent.

Source 5: https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2019-01-0619/

-This source delves further into the phenomenon of seatbelts becoming tangled and trapping the occupant. 

Since 2000, over 200 rear seat occupants have become entangled in the seatbelt when they inadvertently switched it from emergency locking mode (ELR) to automatic locking mode (ALR). Since a method is needed to lock the seatbelt when installing child restraint systems (CRS), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) commissioned tool, inc. to develop prototype devices that could reduce the risk of seatbelt entanglement resulting from the lockability requirement. A field analysis of entanglement incidents was first conducted to inform countermeasure design. Prototype devices were developed and evaluated through testing with volunteer subjects in comparison to standard seatbelt systems by assessing how different designs would be used to install CRS, the quality of the resulting installations, how users would disentangle a trapped child surrogate, as well as to identify volunteer experience when using the belts themselves. Four prototype devices were evaluated in two phases of testing conducted at the UMTRI. All four prototype devices had shorter disentanglement times than trials with the standard seatbelt, but there was not a statistically significant difference between the devices. There were no substantial differences in the quality of child restraint installation among the devices and the standard seatbelt.

Source 6: https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/8/4/338

-This source brings up the phenomena of people that have been in an accident lying about wearing their belt, resulting in a false sense of security and bloated inaccurate numbers based on how safe they are.

Some authors have expressed concern that estimates of seat belt effects may be biased.1–4 In particular, some car occupants who survived a crash may falsely claim to police that they were belted in order to avoid a fine. If police sometimes believe these false claims, this would lead to exaggerated estimates of seat belt benefits if data from police crash reports were used.

Source 7: https://www.wolffardis.com/defective-seat-belts/

-This source mainly talks about how seatbelts can quickly become significantly more dangerous than they are safe when they fail.

Defective seat belts can case catastrophic, often fatal, injuries.  These life-changing injuries can change an occupant’s life forever.  The most common injuries from seat belt failure are injuries to the heat and neck, chest injuries, and injuries to the arms or legs; these injuries can lead to permanent disabilities. If a seat belt fails in a head on collision, an occupant can be thrown into the windshield.  If a belt fails during a rollover, an occupant can be ejected from the vehicle and sustain spinal cord or neck injuries which can result in quadriplegia, paraplegia, paralysis or death.

Posted in Giants, White Paper | 1 Comment

White Paper – rowanluver29

Posted on February 5, 2023 by rowanluver29

For my research essay, I will be discussing how childhood trauma paved the way for a lot of widely known serial killers to begin their murder sprees. Researchers have noted that a lot of the most known serial killers came from childhood trauma. FBI profiler Robert Ressler had interviewed 36 convicted murderers, in the interviews he conducted he found out about the murderers’ histories, motives, as well as their psychological and behavioral characteristics. He found that 40% of the murderers he interviewed were physically beaten or abused, while the other 70% had witnessed abuse growing up.

Psychopathic serial killers differ a lot from serial killers that came from specific traumas, psychopathic murderers have something different in their brain than other ‘normal’ human beings. Their brains have become an interest to neurologists, psychologists and criminologists. And although these types of murders stem mainly from a possible chemical imbalance, what sets them off is childhood trauma. Showing that some of the most notorious people to walk the Earth, became the way they are because they were not given enough care in the most vital years of their life.

Source one: Serial Killers And Childhood Abuse: Is There A Link? | Crime Traveller

Background: This article discusses how serial killers and childhood abuse correlate heavily with one another. In most cases, they go hand in hand. This article discusses different types of trauma, statistics with trauma and murders, and even some information about books written and how the authors got the information needed to write the books through interviews with murderers or heavy research.

How I intend to use it: I intend to use this article to back up my hypothesis and how that a lot of serial killers become serial killers because of their childhood trauma. Although this is not always the only reason or a reason at all, a lot of the time it is a factor that does heavily influence their actions. I will use the statistics to help show the audience that there is a difference between the general population and the serial killer population when it comes to psychological abuse. The normal population shows 2% and the serial killer population shows 50%.

Source two: The Mind of a Psychopath: The Psychopathic Killer | Crime Traveller

Background: This article goes more in depth about what a psychopath really is, characteristics of a psychopath and also some examples of well known murderers who are classified as psychopaths. It includes paragraphs about childhood abuse, genetics, brain scans, and a little bit about nature vs. nurture.


How I intend to use it: I am going to use this article to help describe and go more in depth about the difference about psychopathic murderers and their childhood trauma vs regular murderers and their childhood trauma. This helps me prove my hypothesis, which states that almost all murderers have stemmed from childhood trauma, even if their actions also had to do with mental illness and genetics.

Source three: From Abused Child to Serial Killer: Investigating Nature vs Nurture in Methods of Murder – Psychiatry Advisor

Background: This article shows that not all abused children become serial killers, and not all serial killers are victims of childhood abuse. However, the connection between the two cannot be dismissed as just coincidence. It also decodes the criminal mind and gives little statistics.

How I intend to use it: I intend to use this article to describe how nature vs nurture can influence how a child grows up, even if they become a murderer or not. I obviously will use it more to help me explain how nature and nurture can influence a child to commit this horrible crime, but I will also show that not ALL children of abuse grow up to be murderers.

Source four: Manson, Wuornos, Ramirez: 3 Famous Killers with Exceptionally Screwed-Up Childhoods – A&E True Crime (aetv.com)

Background: This article points out 3 known murderers and each of their childhood traumas. It describes specifically how each one of them grew up and the abuse they endured at a young age.

How I intend to use it: I will use this source to show some real examples of serial killers and their sad pasts to again, prove my hypothesis. I also think it is also interesting to hear some real stories of murderers and their childhood rather than all statistics and articles talking about how they correlate and not showing real experiences.

Source five: The Dark Psychology of Serial Killers: Unpacking the Factors Behind their Brutal Behaviour | Psychreg

Background: This article touches on child abuse but also the other things that go hand in hand with child abuse that are other influences for murderers to do what they do. This can include something psychologically wrong with them like stated above, social and environmental factors, and also some health studies.

How I intend to use it: I will use this article to help break up all of the child abuse talk and also include some other factors that can enhance the PTSD from the child abuse, so I am steering off track just enough to talk about something else, but it still all ties back to abuse in the home. Reading further into the article I discovered that it also contains mental disorders that can be caused by abuse encountered at a young age, I will go into detail about the different mental disorders, how they affect an individual and how it will higher the probability of one becoming a serial killer.

Possible topic for smaller papers:

Definition/Classification argument: Discuss how psychopathic murderers and murderers that stem from childhood trauma are similar to one another, despite heavy differences

Cause/Effect argument: The cause would be genetics or child abuse; the effect would be how both of those things lead up to those people becoming serial killers. More specifically, how genetics and abuse go hand in hand to create a murderer.

Rebuttal: Statistics and research from the article proving that although psychopathic murders are different than murderers who just stem from childhood trauma, they all led up to the same point, and there is one similar underlying factor that got them there, and that is trauma. 

Current state of research paper:

I really like where I am with this hypothesis and this research paper compared to my first one. I am a lot more interested in this topic and I think it would be more interesting to read. I just need to get approval that this is a good hypothesis to use in a research paper! I think that this is a little bit less repetitive than my first hypothesis because there are different murderers I can look into specifically, I can also research more statistics because this also involves some information pertaining to the medical field. Overall, I think I like this hypothesis better than the first!

Source six: These Are The 4 Types Of Serial Killers (grunge.com)

Background: This article describes the basics of the four different types of serial killers, and what drives them to murder other human beings. This article also gives examples of murderers and what drove them to commit the murders they did. This article is short but it is a good jump start to the base of what I want my definition argument to be about, I intent to find more articles that go into more depth about the different types.

How I intend to use it: I will use this when re-writing my definition argument to describe “the perfect childhood on raising a serial killer.”I will start off with describing the different types of serial killers with examples, then follow up with what could have caused them to fall into one of the four categories of murderer.

Source seven: Visionary Serial Killers Are Driven by Inner Demons | Psychology Today

Background: This article goes a little bit more into depth about what goes on in the mind of a visionary serial killer, and what drove them mentally to become this kind of serial killer. One sentence caught my attention when first skimming the article over: Such individuals are often suffering from either psychoses or some other form of mental illness.” and it reminded me to make sure to include to research what kind of mental illness can lead one to become a visionary murderer.

How I intend to use it: One sentence caught my attention when first skimming the article over: Such individuals are often suffering from either psychoses or some other form of mental illness.” and it reminded me to make sure to include to research what kind of mental illness can lead one to become a visionary murderer. I will use this for one of my paragraphs that goes more in depth about visionary murderers and their past. I will also find another example of a visionary killer to compare it to, just to show the readers an example.

Source eight: Hedonist Lust Killers Must Feed Their Insatiable Hunger | Psychology Today

Background: This article is the same author as the one above discussing visionary serial killers, I like this website because it gets to the point and tells me the perfect amount of information, I need to know to give the audience of my paper a good idea of what to know about the four different types of murders. This article again goes more in depth about the hedonist type of murderer and tells us what drives the murderers to do what they do when they fall under the category of the hedonist lust murderer.

How I intend to use it: This article discusses a lot about fantasy kills and how a lot of the murders were driven by the want for sexual impulse or desire for the perfect lover. They give a lot of detail about how the murderer Jeffery Dahmer was strongly known for this type of murder, and they also give background about specific actions Dahmer and other murders did that got them addicted to this type of murder. This type of murderer is very disturbing.

Source nine: Understanding Pragmatic Mission Killers | Psychology Today

Background: Again, this article delves deeper into pragmatic killers, also known as murderers with a mission. These murderers often believe that when they murder a specific group of people, they will make the world a better place.

How I intend to use it: I again will use this article to help describe 1 out of the 4 different types of murderers. Among these four paragraphs I also intend to include how these specific murderers were raised and to see if different murderers that fall under the same category have the same underlying mental illnesses.

Source ten: Serial Homicide for Power and Control | Psychology Today

Background: The last kind of serial killer that I intend on bringing attention to in my article. This type of killer, murders for a sense of control over their victim or greed/thrill seeking needs. This is the most common type of serial killer, and an example of this would be John Wayne Gacy, one of the other murderers (who will be mentioned in the essay) also committed murders because it made him feel like a “God.”


How I intend to use it: Lastly, I intend to use this article just like the other three, to describe in simple yet detailed terms kind of murderer this is and to give examples of how they fall under that category, what childhood circumstances caused them to end up there and an example of a murderer as well as their actions.

Source eleven: Ted Bundy | Biography, Crimes, Death, & Facts | Britannica

Background: This article states a lot about Ted Bundy’s murder cases as well as a little bit of information about his childhood and how he was as a person.

How I intend to use it: I intend to use this just to add on to the examples used in other articles for more backup information and to add in some more facts and details about Bundy and his history as a child.

Source twelve: David Berkowitz – Wikipedia

Background: This article talks a lot about Berkowitz and his family life, how he was adopted and how he found out the reasoning of why he was put up for adoption and what it did to him mentally that causes people to think that is the start of why he started to commit murders.
How I intend to use it: I intend to use this just to add on to the examples used in other articles for more backup information and to add in some more facts and details about Berkowitz and his history as a child.

Source thirteen: Jeffrey Dahmer’s Childhood: A Pail of Animal Bones Was His Toy Rattle – A&E True Crime (aetv.com)

Background: This article discusses a lot about what Dahmer did as a child when it came to dissecting road kill and finding an uneasy interest in the organs of humans as well as animals. It also discusses how he himself used to think from a young age and how most of it was about killing living things.Mainly a lot about his childhood and mental state.

How I intend to use it: I intend to use this just to add on to the examples used in other articles for more backup information and to add in some more facts and details about Dahmer and his history as a child.

Source fourteen: Did Jeffrey Dahmer Have Seizures? Did Jeffrey Dahmer Have AIDS? (thecinemaholic.com)

Background: I am focusing mainly on one paragraph in this article that focuses on his behavior in school and why he acted the way he did. It also focus’s a little bit on his experiences with being bullied.


How I intend to use it: I intend to use this to elaborate on the trouble in Dahmer’s childhood.

Source fifteen: The Truth About the Serial Killer Gene – SQ Online (ucsd.edu)

Background: This article talks a lot about certain chemical imbalances and how they lead to shy and awkward tendencies or serial killer tendencies, whichcan either save or take a life depending on which way it leans. This article also tries to say that childhood abuse does not

How I intend to use it: I personally really loved this article and thought that the opening was funny and intriguing, making me feel bad to completely take out the authors knees when using it in my rebuttal. This article talks a lot about the genetic aspect that makes serial killers, well serial killers. But they also mention the fact that childhood trauma plays a part but does not at all justify behavior. And I intend to prove that wrong.

Source sixteen: Did an Abusive Childhood Turn Albert DeSalvo Into the ‘Boston Strangler’ Serial Killer? – A&E True Crime (aetv.com)

Background: This article discusses murderer Albert DeSalvo and his story as a murderer and about his childhood. It discusses if an abusive childhood turned him into the person who is known to be the Boston Strangler.

How I intend to use it: In the article it says that child abuse cannot be the only thing that drives one to become a serial killer, the article states there has to be neurological damage done by injury or drugs to lead allow a murderer to stem from an abusive childhood, which I believe I can prove wrong in my rebuttal.

Source seventeen: Carl Panzram – Wikipedia

Background: This website gives insight about Carl Panzram, his childhood, and his murders.

How I intend to use it: I intend to use this murderer and his childhood and proof of no drug use to respectfully, take out my opponents’ knees when it comes to proving that in order for childhood abuse to have an effect on a serial killer, there does not have to be neurological damage done by drugs or lead exposure.

Source eighteen: The Tragic Story of a Boy who was Abused and Became a Monster | by Sam H Arnold | CrimeBeat | Medium

Background: This website gives insight about Carl Panzram, his childhood, and his murders.

How I intend to use it: I intend to use this murderer and his childhood and proof of no drug use to respectfully, take out my opponents’ knees when it comes to proving that in order for childhood abuse to have an effect on a serial killer, there does not have to be neurological damage done by drugs or lead exposure. But mainly I will be using this article to expand on the kind of childhood Carl Panzram had.

Posted in RowanLuver, White Paper | 2 Comments

White Paper-G00dSoup

Posted on February 5, 2023 by g00dsoup

Through the introduction of “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” people have been able to get through a lack of social interaction and experience healthy online relationships.

The psychology behind video games during COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Background: With the risk of engaging in escapism, Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers players a dreamworld where they may momentarily escape the harsh realities. In contrast, the New Horizons environment develops into the ideal social platform for maintaining social engagement with people in order to combat loneliness. The article distinguishes whether the game is a “dreamland” or just a temporary form of escapism.

How I Intend To Use It: I intend on using this article to explain whether “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is truly a “dreamland” or just a temporary form of escapism. I want to dive into whether or not this game does provide people the fill they needed during the pandemic, or if it did not satisfy them at all.

My Thoughts on the Article:
Social interaction is another highlight of the game’s success, and it is highly related to ones’ psychological well-being to get rid of the loneliness.
The article goes further into you, as the player, being the only human in an island full of animals. You may be “lonely” as the article describes it…but you aren’t “alone.”The island is filled with different villagers that you can befriend (or turn them against you…it’s all based on how you play the game and how well you treat them).
This aspect of the game can relieve the lack of social interaction to an extent…even if it is with fictional animal characters.

Can Animal Crossing make you happier?

Background: Research suggests that playing video games contributes to positive emotions. Some of these benefits may be attributed to the stress-relieving abilities that video games have. In order for players to be able to shift their focus away from stress they are experiencing in their everyday, offline life, they need to immerse themselves in a fictional world.

How I Intend To Use It: I intend to use this article to examine many games and support my claim that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has nailed these stress-relieving advantages. Of course, not everybody has engaged in the game. However, I think that this game is superior in making up for the lack of social connection that occurred during the epidemic, and I want to make the case for why people should purchase this game if they experience these feelings.

My Thoughts on the Article: ““Animal Crossing” are designed to be relaxing. There is never a sense of urgency, and you can choose how you want to play the game. However, research has found that even games that involve more stressful gameplay or include violence can be relaxing for many individuals. By immersing themselves in a fictional world, players are able to shift their focus away from stress in their everyday, offline life.”
The game is intended to be relaxing as it allows players to play the way THEY want to. Players don’t have to worry about reaching a specific goal within a time frame. The choice is ultimately up to them.

“n the past, video games have been traditionally viewed as a solitary activity. However, modern video games often include opportunities to play with other people, either by playing with each other online or playing together in person. In the case of “Animal Crossing,” you are able to visit the island of any other player in the game. Some players hold virtual birthday parties, have meteor shower watch parties or get their friends to help them water flowers in the game. This allows people to connect even in a time when many are socially isolating.“
There are many opportunities for players to socially spend time with others when the pandemic makes it difficult to do so. The online features offers many ideas for players to plan events quickly and creatively.

Video Games Are Social Spaces

Background: There is evidence to suggest that video games can be a safe place to experiment with social interactions for vulnerable people. These include people with autism spectrum disorders, insecure attachment styles, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety. Video games and other online spaces are “safe’ for these individuals because they allow people to communicate when they want to.

How I Intended To Use It: With this article, I want to take examples used when discussing individuals communicating with friends through video games towards the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I want to incorporate details within this article and apply it towards Animal Crossing as a whole.

My Thoughts of the Article:
– The paragraph titled, “Video Games as a Safe Space” gives me a good idea of what this could be about. During the questionable times the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic caused us all, majority of us went to playing video games as a safe space.
–“There is also evidence to suggest that video games can be a safe place to experiment with social interactions for vulnerable people. These include: people with autism spectrum disorders,
people with insecure attachment styles, (those whose unreliable relationships early in life have led to a feeling of mistrust in most other relationships) shy people, people with depressive symptoms, and people with social anxiety” I personally feel COVID affected a lot of our social presences and made us more vulnerable, if we weren’t already.
–“Successful conversations require a wide variety of skills that many take for granted, such as reading body language, understanding tone of voice, maintaining eye contact, and rapidly comprehending and responding to information. Online video games can allow players to talk to others and make friends at their current ability level even when they are not emotionally or physically able to leave their homes. This can help build the skills and confidence necessary to try it in-person.” Any video that has internet access can do this…to some degree. Games that are meant to be played online, (such as Call of Duty if I were to name an example) have features where you could speak to anyone who is online. Animal Crossing however is steered towards a wider variety of people, thus making it more difficult to find friends online (due to the fact children play the game as well).

The Quality of Online Social Relationships

Background: Offline social relationships are more valuable. However, online relationships can be less valuable. As a matter of fact, their net benefit is consistent with whether they help or replace offline social relationships.

How I intend to use it: I want to dive in further why people making friends online is easier than making friends offline. Especially during the pandemic when it is already difficult to even speak to someone face to face, communicating with people online is the easier solution for maintaining social skills.

My thoughts while reading:
“Surveys of the general public continually reveal that most people using the Internet value email and other
forms of online social interaction. Even in the age of the Web and e-commerce, online social interaction
is still the most important use of the Internet.”
Even before COVID, surveys have stated that online social interaction is the most important use of the Internet. During the pandemic, I can assume that these survey results probably changed with more people becoming more dependent on online social interaction.

Animal Crossing-A New Social Media?

Background: The article discusses the online features in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and how they are used within the game.

How I intend on using it: I intend on using this piece in my rebuttal argument, as the features the game has (online play and communicating with others via the internet) and how they relate to anyone using official social media platforms (such as Instagram or FaceBook) and how it’s fairly similar.

My Thoughts while reading:
“You can also add a player as either a friend or best friend, and send messages or mail whenever you want. These relationships can be seen as building a social network, perhaps with strong ties between your friends or best friends, and weak ties between those whose island you just visit casually through codes or the cloud storage.”
-You can do the same thing through official social media platforms
-You can send messages to friends whenever the user wants, much like messaging someone through Instagram whenever you want

“These relationships are unique in the pandemic times, where you can now virtually interact with someone, visit their home, share gifts, and explore together, which can retain current relationships and foster new ones.”
-Like any internet platform, people can make new friends within Animal Crossing. They can play with their current friends who also have the game and also meet new people online and make “Animal Crossing Friends” that way.

Posted in G00dSoup, White Paper | 4 Comments

The White Paper- Miliwawa  

Posted on February 4, 2023 by miliwawa

Hypothesis:

A non-dominant culture has a history of hardship; when the superior culture takes credit for its traditions, it results in cultural appropriation.

Fashion between Inspiration and Appropriation 

Background: Cultural appropriation in fashion has received attention in recent years from the media and the news. This paper aims to talk about the situation of cultural appropriation in the fashion field. It also looks into the historical perspective, in which many famous examples are examined to understand that the talk about cultural appropriation in fashion is not new and how it has increasingly developed over time. It also looks into the law perspective, in which different solutions and views are considered.

How I Intend to use it: This article has a good understanding of how fashion has started to use appropriation as a form to say fashion designers have been so-called inspired. I intend to talk about how being inspired and using a form of cultural appropriation are two completely different things and how fashion designers need to be more respectful and considerate of other people’s cultures and forms of art. 

Fashion and Appropriation

Background:  Fashion and Appropriation is a topic that is talked about many times and is very relevant in our society. Both producers and consumers of fashion have long shown a fascination with the difference between exotic fashion and cultural appropriation forms of fashion; in addition to promoting fashion change, these fashion moves have also encouraged various forms of Appropriation, making this topic very ongoing yet intensely a considerable debate. Appropriation can be a complex political and ethical discussion with many layers that require careful and critical thinking. The articles in this issue approach appropriation in fashion from different angles and perspectives.

How I intend to use it:  I intend to use this article to talk about the cultural appropriation that the fashion industry uses to come out with “exotic” fashion. Many Designers encourage different forms of appropriation, don’t consider the debate about cultural appropriation, and like to promote their opinions about the fashion industry and what cultural appropriation is or isn’t, which adds to the discussion and debate about the fashion industry and its consumers. 

Cultural Appropriation and Fashion: A-Line to Clarify the Line 

Background: This essay shows the difference between appreciation and appropriation. At the same time, explaining the history of cultural appropriation. Borrowing cultures has been happening for a long time, but sometimes that inspiration becomes stealing. For example, “an Australian fashion designer Kohon To Zai created a caribou skin parka for the runway… the problem with this was this particular parka was designed in 1920 to protect an Inuit shaman named Ava”(Holloway, 2011). This designer never asked for permission or gave reimbursement for the design. There are many instances where designers steal from subdominant cultures or individuals wear bold clothing without an appreciation of their religious/cultural background. 

How I intend to use it: I will use this paper because it shows how people wear cultural outfits without acknowledging the history behind it. This paper demonstrates many examples of when people have exploited fashion from subdominant cultures. This paper also explains how borrowing cultures can often be seen as inspiration rather than what it actually is, which is cultural appropriation.

Curbing cultural appropriation in the fashion industry with intellectual property

Background: In the discussion of the public debate following countless accusations of cultural appropriation, the fashion industry is due to undergo a vast transformation. The media is vocal about fashion designers learning to be mindful when borrowing from other cultures and offering products that are respectful of their traditions. At the same time, the fashion industry uses the term “cultural appropriation” as a role for intellectual property in curbing this harmful practice.

How I intend to use it: I intend to use this article because it speaks about the truth underlying intellectual property used in supporting cultural appropriation in the fashion industry today. The fashion industry has received many times, backlash, because it fails to respect different cultures and, in many cases, gives credit where it’s due. 

“They Love the Culture, but Not the People”: A Content Analysis of Cultural Appropriation Claims Against Fashion Designers and Brands From 2013 to 2020

Background: This research study explores instances of appropriation by FD&Bs, determines cultural inspiration in appropriated designs, and understands how acts of appropriation conduct institutions that harm communities. This study aims to determine how fashion designers and brands have been accused of cultural theft and how cultures are being used as sources of inspiration, and to also understand how acts of appropriation impact historical communities. Fashion Designers who do not conduct appropriate research of the original cultural context risk potentially continuing structures of dominance, marginalization, and power imbalances in today’s fashion society. 

How I intend to use it: This paper shows many instances where fashion designers and brands exploit cultural fashion and how it affects the roots of its culture. I will use this in my paper to show sources of influence in borrowed designs and be aware of how acts of appropriation uphold structures that affect historically oppressed groups.

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